NYPD cop in "I can't breathe" choking incident that went viral on video has been fired.

It took more than five years but the New York City police officer who placed a chokehold on Eric Garner over selling untaxed cigarettes was fired today.

That means NYPD detective Danny Pantaleo will not be receiving his pension, a serious blow to his Blue Privilege which allowed him to escape criminal charges over the choking death of the 43-year-old man on July 17, 2014.

In fact, it was only this month that Pantaleo was suspended without pay after an administrative judge recommended he be fired. Prior to that, he had been collecting $98,000-a-year working "desk duty," allowing him to milk the taxpayers without the authority to harass them.

The 13-year veteran was known for violating people's civil rights, according to several lawsuits that had been filed against him before Garner's death.

NYPD Commissioner James O'Neall announced the news Monday in a press conference,stating the obvious.

“I stand before you today confident that I have reached the correct decision,” O’Neill said, according to Time. “It is clear that Daniel Pantaleo can no longer effectively serve as a New York City police officer.”

NYPD union chief Patrick Lynch responded in a predictable rant, vowing that the decision is going to lead to the downfall of New York City.

"(O'Neall) has chosen to cringe in fear of the anti-police extremists, rather than standing up for New Yorkers who want a functioning police department, with cops who are empowered to protect them and their families," Lynch said in a statement that was tweeted out by the Police Benevolent Association.

In typical Blue Mafia fashion, Lynch derided the decision as a violation of Pantaleo's "due process rights," never mind the fact that he had no respect for anybody else's due process rights.

“Police Commissioner O’Neill has made his choice: he has chosen politics and his own self-interest over the police officers he claims to lead. He has chosen to cringe in fear of the anti-police extremists, rather than standing up for New Yorkers who want a functioning police department, with cops who are empowered to protect them and their families. With this decision, Commissioner O’Neill has opened the door for politicians to dictate the outcome of every single NYPD disciplinary proceeding, without any regard for the facts of the case or police officers’ due process rights. He will wake up tomorrow to discover that the cop-haters are still not satisfied, but it will be too late. The damage is already done. The NYPD will remain rudderless and frozen, and Commissioner O’Neill will never be able to bring it back. Now it is time for every police officer in this city to make their own choice. We are urging all New York City police officers to proceed with the utmost caution in this new reality, in which they may be deemed ‘reckless’ just for doing their job. We will uphold our oath, but we cannot and will not do so by needlessly jeopardizing our careers or personal safety.”

Although Pantaleo was found to not have violated the law by a grand jury in December 2014, NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Trials Rosemarie Maldonado determined earlier this month that the 33-year-old cop was guilty of misconduct for placing Garner in a chokehold that had been banned by the department.

The judge, however, acquitted the cop on allegations of intentionally strangling Garner, according to the New York Post.

The man who recorded the video that went viral, Ramsey Orta, ended up imprisoned after the NYPD launched a retaliation campaign against him. Watch his video above.

Garner resisted lawful arrest. He got restrained and cuffed, unlike the time several weeks earlier when he successfully shrugged off another arrest attempt. Of course he'd been arrested dozens of times so knew the drill--go easy, go hard but you go. He went in an ambulance to the trauma unit but the morbidly obese street denizen room temped on the way. The takedown by Pantaleo may have dislodged some cholesterol chips but big bad Eric was not suffocated by Officer Pantaleo. By the way on Garner's rapsheet was a domestic dispute charge...was he a wife beater?

DariusLN

Aug 20

Now he needs to be charged with murder!

Copslayer

Aug 19

If that was my father i would have avenged him serval times over by now

Copslayer

Aug 19

This was the biggest and best news in police accountability in a long time.